Film academy adds 276 new members; increase in minorities, women

On the set: Movies and TV | Mariska HargitayMariska Hargitay, who stars on "Law & Order: SVU" as Olivia Benson, directs an episode of the TV series on Dec. 15 in New York City. (Bobby Bank / GC Images/Getty Images)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 276 new members into the organization on Friday -- 100 more than were included in the 2012 invitees -- including a large number of minorities and women, such as Rosario Dawson, Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Peña, Danny Trejo and Chris Tucker in the actors branch.

The larger invitee list reflects the academy's recent decision to expand and diversify its ranks by relaxing a cap on membership that has restricted new admittances since 2004.

A Los Angeles Times study published last year found that academy voters are markedly less diverse than the moviegoing public and even more monolithic than many in the film industry may have suspected.

At the time of the study, Oscar voters were nearly 94% Caucasian and 77% male, The Times found. Blacks are about 2% of the academy and Latinos are fewer than 2%. Oscar voters have a median age of 62, the study showed. People younger than 50 constitute just 14% of the membership.